DC field trip

There were plenty of chaperones for the third grade DC field trip, so I ended up with a group of...Rudy!  Ellen was responsible for only Mary Emma, so we had a day in DC to explore essentially on our own with the added bonus of a charter bus so we didn't have to drive!

We had some rather loose instructions for the day.  We were to spend the morning at the monuments and then have lunch:

The afternoon was for the Natural History Museum, with a required visit to the mammals wing.  We also added an extra paid admission to the butterfly pavilion.  

Of course, I love going on field trips because I like being with my kids and around their friends.  Added bonus was spending the whole day with Ellen and Mary Emma.  And, the icing on the cake was this:

Feathered friends

We haven't put bird feeders out for the past several winters, but enjoyed watching our many visitors this year.  The birds are pretty tricky to get pictures of.  The woodpeckers were my favorite, but I have to say I loved watching the squirrel too.  He was just so enterprising in getting to the food that I had time being too upset with him for stealing the bird food.  We'd let him munch away for a few minutes every time we saw him before running him off.

Helper

We've relocated my "office" to the bonus room while the house is on the market.  The giant monitor looks slightly less offensive upstairs than in our actual office/living room.  Bell seems to have it in her head that my desk is the perfect spot to relax when I'm working.  She likes to curl up and purr right on top of my papers, waiting for a belly rub.  

 

Poppy's birthday party

We sent James off into the snowy cold to visit Poppy in Oklahoma.  Poppy was able to join a large contingent of James' extended family for a special birthday party at the Golden Corral.  While it was quite an adventure getting there (with a bump ticket and several hours of delays), in the end, I think James was glad he took the trip.  

Snow day sleepover

These two are still great buddies, even though busy schedules make it hard to get together!

 

 

Snow day

It got to be very predictable this month - every Thursday would be a snow day.  Of course, Thursday is the day I go to work, so it always threw a bit of a wrench in the works.  One of the most wonderful things about my job, though, is the total flexibility which means I can still revel in a snow day with my kids! 

 

Grandma Lucy's Pecan Rolls

I have two favorite recipes that top my all time high list of things to eat and cook.  One of them is Grandma Lucy's veggie soup.  I've adopted this over the years so it's not quite the same, but it's close enough to be recognizable as hers.  I've added more veggies (sweet potatoes, greens, chickpeas...or whatever else we have on hand).  There is some family discussion about whether green beans belong in this soup, but I'm firmly in the ABSOLUTELY NOT camp on that one!

The other recipe is her pecan rolls.  I don't know for sure that I have her sweet dough recipe,  but I use one from one of her old cookbooks so the odds are pretty good.  I also have no written recipe for the rest of the rolls.  My mom showed me; there's no measuring involved so there isn't much to write down!  Just tons and tons of sugary, nutty goodness rolled up and baked.  

I got a craving for these; one batch of dough makes about five pans, so many had to go in the freezer to keep us from plowing through all five pans in five days!  The same day I made them this year, a very similar popped up in my "Timehop" app from LAST YEAR.  Apparently, this is how I survive February...

No troubles with self-esteem for this one...

Visit with Grandma

We made it down to Oma and Papa's for another visit with Grandma before she had to go home. I was hoping that she would have been able to stay at our house for a visit, but that didn't work out since we didn't have much of a house for much of her visit.  We made the best of the time we did have though!

Dry cleaning

After we moved back home, our clothing was all delivered from the cleaners.  Most everything in the master closet and coat closet, as well as any bedding and curtains, had been covered in a layer of drywall dust.  The insurance company had a vendor pick everything up, clean it, and redeliver it after we moved back in.  For the low, low price of....$8000!  WOW!

At least the Super Ru cape and the Buzz Lightyear snuggie were dry cleaned...

 

Snow day with guests

Grandma was visiting Oma and Papa, and the roads were clear enough by Wednesday that they could still come up for a visit.  We were hoping that Grandma would get to watch the boys' basketball games, but both of those were cancelled. We had a good visit with Grandma, with lots of games, cards, and crafts.  Oma and Papa even got some snow playtime in with the boys.

Snow day!

We had a couple of "snow days" earlier in the year, but there wasn't any actual snow to play in.  This was the first one with enough of a covering to get out and play.  I was much appreciative that mother nature waited until we weren't going to be trapped in the Residence Inn for a snowstorm!